July 9, 2019 Honourable Ahmed Hussen, MP, PC Minister Of
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
July 9, 2019 Honourable Ahmed Hussen, MP, PC Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship 365 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1 Re: Help our Canadian seniors by changing the Post Graduate Workers Permit Dear Minister Hussen, We are writing you today to bring to your attention our concerns with current educational restrictions under the Post Graduate Workers Permit (PGWP) and how this is harming the care that Canadian seniors deserve. As you are aware, skilled Canadian work experience gained through the PGWP helps graduates qualify for permanent residency status in Canada. The PGWP also provides opportunities for new Canadians to work in seniors’ care – a sector where we desperately need more health care workers. Unfortunately, students that wish to utilize a PGWP can only do so by participating in eligible programs from public designated learning institutions. Most private institutions offer training programs for health care aides. The problem is that there are a number of well- established and accredited private institutions with an appropriate curriculum (the exact same curriculum as their public counterparts) that are not classified as eligible programs under current federal requirements. With both a provincially approved institution and a provincially approved curriculum – and yet not an eligible program for PGWP students – it is incumbent on the Federal Government to address this gap in the PGWP program eligibility. Therefore, we are calling on you to amend the PGWP requirements to allow for provincially approved programs at private designated learning institutions – that may be shorter than 900 hours in length – to participate as an approved PGWP program. Canada is facing a labour shortage crisis in seniors’ care, and Canadian seniors are suffering because of this. To put this in context, in order to meet demand for care, the health care sector is anticipated to grow at an annual rate of 1.9%, creating 188,900 jobs by 2026. Our low supply of health care workers will not be able to keep up with that kind of growth. We estimate that the current restrictions on the PGWP are preventing potentially over 6,000 new Canadians over the next 6 years from finding work, staying in Canada and supporting our seniors. 1 Adopting this measure will help increase the supply of new health care workers significantly and will provide new Canadians with a feasible and clear pathway to permanent residency status. With this simple policy change, the Federal Government can show leadership on immigration and make a difference in addressing the care needs that our seniors desperately need. We are calling on you to make the right decision. With thanks – on behalf of educational institutions, the long-term care sector, and seniors across Canada. Mike McAllister, Laura Tamblyn Watts, Chair, Chief Public Policy Officer, National Association of Career Canadian Association of Retired Colleges Persons Daniel Fontaine, Chair, Canadian Association for Long Term Care CC: Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health Filomena Tassi, Minister of Seniors Patricia A. Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Rural Economic Development Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development 2 .